I'm shocked. After the Mavs dominated game 2 I figured the Heat might win one game. Game 3 seemed like that one game with the improbable comeback by the Heat unlikely to be repeated. Now I don't have any idea how it will turn out. I suspect there will be a game 7.

The Mavs seemed like they were gonna run away with the title, but i guess the Heat proved that they were better than what they showed in the first two games. I think the way the finals are set up to have "home-court adv" is flawed. The team w/ the the better record would get the full benefit of home-court adv. if they had three games in a row at home, then three in a row away, then the last at home. The way the games are set up now pretty much make for a lot of game sevens.

A 3-3-1 would give too much advantage to the team that starts with three at home. I prefer 2-2-1-1-1 to 2-3-2, but if you can't win one of three road games in a row, you don't deserve the title. At this point, the Mavs are in bigger trouble than the Heat. Game 5's a must-win for them, after the way they handed over game 3 and were atrocious last night. They're accustomed to digging themselves out of holes, but winning two at home after losing three straight on the road would be tough. Avery Johnson's been getting a lot of credit for his coaching moves, but I think he made the mistake of the series in the last six minutes of game 3. When you're the better free-throw shooting team, you're ahead by 13, and Wade has five fouls, drive the basket every time and make them foul you. You'll get enough points from the free throw line to stop the rally.

I didn't understand why they didn't run every drive at Wade after he got his fifth foul in Game 3 to either make him foul out or give up easy baskets. Miami picked up their defense, Shaq was better, and they finally got some help from their bench. It seemed more like Dallas just was missing their shots than Miami shut them down. I think Dallas still might have an edge, because they're a better road team than Miami, but Game 5 is huge. I rooting for Dallas, but I wouldn't mind if Miami won. I just want an interesting series, and we've certainly got that now.

I think that the Mav's meltdown was more attributed to themselves than anything that the Heat did. While the Heat have clamed down the last two games defensively, game three just got into the Mav's head I think. They just couldn't buy a bucket last night.

Mavs looked a little lost out there. I haven't seen them seem that relatively clueless since the playoffs started. Well, we've got a series again. Should be a great game five. (I hate the 2-3-2 format.)

You know, we see the exact same thing year in year out...the "favorite" wins Game's 1 and 2. The "underdog" goes home and regroups to win Game's 3 and 4. Yet, look at the 97 Bulls and more recently the 05 Spurs. Both teams won their first 2 games, then proceeded to drop the next 2 on the road before getting big efforts from their stars and clutch shots from the role players. Guys, yeah, I'm terrified about Dallas. Dirk and Howard are both struggling. But if Avery wants to make a difference, why not switch Stackhouse and Howard. Why not try that for a game. See what happens. Stack has been playing with lots of energy...and giving Howard the chance to come off the bench and play may be what he needs. On the Heat side of things, Posey shouldn't be penciled in to start Game 5, he should be INKED in. Period. End of story. What has Antoine Walker given the Heat anyways? Sure his Game 4 efforts were a step up from the rest of the series (and he finally hit a 3...that's when I just cut it off because hell'd finally frozen over).

One of the big problems I have with good jump shooting teams is that they seem to get into that low percentage shot mode and refuse to drive the net. The Kings of 2-3 years ago were a perfect example of this and it looks like it could be Dallas' undoing. Dallas really needs to pull one out in Miami and take this series at home. I can's stand the idea of Alonzo Mourning winning an NBA title.

I can't wait for game 5. You gotta believe that whoever wins Sunday should be the favorite to take it all. I know the last two are in Dallas, so if Miami wins, there's no guarantees, but 3 in a row would be tough for Dallas to overcome. As good as DWade has bee, I think it all depends on Shaq - the only life Dallas showed yesterday in the second half was when the Diesel went to the bench in the 3rd quarter for a rest. (Has anybody else noticed that for every questionable call, Hubie Brown says, "it all depends on the Ref's angle"? Yeah, we got it Hubie! Find something new to say)

Anyone see the hit Stack put on Shaq? If the league stays true to form, he's gonna miss a game or two (were this the regular season I'd say they give him a five game suspension at the least). Stack made zero effort to even make it look like he was going for the ball. He just clubbed Shaq in the head with a forearm to the side of his face. Streetballers are rarely so agressive- it was that bad. And the effect on the team chemistry could go either way (I'd say it would harm them but then look what happened to Phoenix when that "kid" Raja Bell clothselined Kobe).

I think you're making too much of that foul, which Shaq laughed off. Considering the punishment that Shaq doles out all the time by being monstrously huge and clumsy with his elbows, it would be a travesty if Stackhouse was suspended for a hard foul that only involved his arms. He didn't even put his body into it.

I do not see how they can justify suspending Stackhouse when there were 3 officials on the floor that didn't even call a flagrant foul. It was a hard foul no doubt, but you are not going to get Shaq's attention with anything less. It was not a cheap shot, it was just a hard foul.

the foul on shaq was called as a flagrant 1, which is two shots and the ball for miami. had it been a flagrant 2, the heat would have gotten two shots and the ball and stackhouse would have gotten the boot- then we may have seen a suspension. as it stands, stackhouse should be in the lineup for game 5 and it's nice to see that the series in interesting again. it looked like dallas might run away with it.

What don't you like about Mourning? . Everything. The guy is a gutless loser quitter. Like when he was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a rare kidney disease. I mean, it took him almost a full year to get back into the NBA after getting a kidney transplant. And he's obviously not contributing to the team since he only finished in 3rd place in blocks-per-game (2.66), despite playing only 20min a game. What a pussy.

Jason Williams set Shaq up to be fouled by trying a fancy-pants pass for a dunk instead of just laying it in himself. (I've heard people call a pass like that in soccer a "hospital ball.") The refs made the right call. I don't think Stackhouse should be suspended. The refs were allowing a lot of physical play in last night's game (Nowitski went to the ground a lot, with fouls only called about half of the time), and Stackhouse's foul wasn't that far out of line. From ESPN: "The previous NBA Finals record for fewest points scored in a quarter was nine, done by Utah against Chicago in 1998 and New Jersey against San Antonio in 2003." Utah and New Jersey both lost their series. Avery Johnson better cure the Mavs' hangover before Sunday. I don't think they'd be able to win two games at home if they go down 3-2. (Although, as King Kaufman points out, the Heat looked beat after two games.)

It seemed like for the better part of the 4th quarter Dallas went to their throw-your-body-into-the-defender-and-hope-for-a-foul style instead of working the ball around for a good shot, which has been so successful for them. That style worked against San Antonio, as Dallas was constantly getting the calls and going to the foul line, but last night, the refs didn't bite.

Everything. The guy is a gutless loser quitter. What in the world are you talking about? Not to keep this going or anything, but I think he's refeering to quitting on the Nets in the '03-'04 seasons, right after K-Mart was traded and it appeared they were going into a re-building mode.

No, he's referring to being traded to the Raptors in the Vince Carter deal and refusing to report, essentially holding the team hostage so that not only did they not get his services, they had to pay him $10 million to buy out his contract. He didn't even bother to leave his house - citing some injury-realted excuse. Afther being granted his wish and bought out, he reported to the Heat three days later and has shown how much he can contribute since. So, no, I don't like him much either.

I'll agree that he's a "loser quitter", but I don't think "gutless" should apply given his ability to play after his serious illness and surgery. Unless, of course, he should have his kidneys removed permanently, then he'd literally be "gutless" at that point.

in my opinion (and the leagues too, apparantly) there's a difference between a hard foul and a flagrant. if shaq was just trying to knock people around, at least he gave the appearance he was going for the ball. stack didn't even do that, he just ran across the floor and barrelled into shaq out of, what seemed like, irritation at the way the game was headed. having said that, i think the suspension is bogus but the mavericks are deep enough to compensate.

lilnemo: A tape of what? Shaq's hard fouls? He'd have to donkey punch Darell Armstrong while a crackpipe hangs out of his mouth in front of a class of four year olds to get a suspension in the playoffs.